From the first, Christians loved Mary. Christians today stand behind these fervent believers and peer over their shoulders. Frederica Mathewes-Green writes: “I hope that we will be able to see what they saw, and come to love her too. We’ll do that by reading three ancient texts about Mary. In each case we’ll begin with some historic background, and then move to consider theological and cultural questions (sometimes, uncomfortable questions) that the document raises.”

This is a treatise of a grand theme by a renowned and respected Orthodox theologian and writer. Dr. George S. Gabriel joins together powerful theological contemplation and meticulous writing in this well-researched study of a primary mystery of ancient Christian faith: the unspeakable mystery of Mary who, offering herself as the ground where the Creator descended to meet His creation, mothered God in human flesh.

Albert Raboteau tells the remarkable story of his own spiritual journey—a journey marked by sorrow and joy, by conversion and reconciliation. He tells of the murder of his father before he was born, being raised in a devout Roman Catholic African-American family, his education, marriage and career crises, and rebuilding his life following a conversion to Orthodox Christianity.

Having come to Orthodoxy from the Evangelical and Charismatic traditions, the author discovers that the rich heritage of the early, apostolic Church exists today in its original, pristine form in the Orthodox Church. He writes about the journey that brought him to Orthodoxy. His chapters on the true Church, Worship, Mary, the Saints, Spirituality, the Eucharist, Scripture and Tradition, etc., capture insights that provide a powerful response to Evangelical claims.

With remarkable breadth of vision — encompassing such diverse phenomena as Sufi mysticism, the Rig-Veda, Australian tribal religions, and medieval religious poetry — Prof. Arseniev indicates both the decisive significance of the Christian massage and the historical preparation for it. Based upon a series of lectures delivered at St Vladimir`s Seminary in courses on Christian apologetics and Orthodox mysticism, these essays present an Orthodox evaluation of "world religions." They constitute an inspiring introduction to man`s universal quest for God and its fulfillment in the Gospel.

West of Jesus: The Bible’s Answer to the Protestant Departure from Orthodox Belief is a condensed journey through Church history that establishes the Orthodox Church as the Body of Christ, as the Church founded by the Lord Jesus in the first century as evidenced by the New Testament.